JN 15:12-17

VSS VPM

In this Gospel Jesus appeals to us to love one another.

What does he mean by love? To love another is to will his or her good. Love is the essence of every precept of the law; the law is fulfilled in love. One father writes more: "As all the boughs of a tree proceed from one root, so all the virtues are produced from one love." And good works take their life from remaining in love. Different words are used for love. In the first part of this passage, agape is used, which refers to love that does not count the cost but overflows in Christian charity. Later, the passage speaks of philios or brotherly love between friends.

How are we to love? We are to love as we have been loved first. This includes by the Church, by those members of Christ's body who have unselfishly given their lives for our happiness and destiny. Think back on your life. Who has shown you the love of Christ? For it is Christ who has loved us first, through them and through his own sacrifice on Calvary. Therefore we have our model for love - we are to love as Christ loves. We are to use our lives as gifts in the service of one another. Since Christ is the model, the martyrs are shining examples of Christians who loved to the end. And we can be martyrs of intention without dying physically. Consider the prayer of St. Therese, "In order that my life may be one act of perfect love, I offer myself as a victim of holocaust to Your merciful love, imploring You to consume me unceasingly, and to allow the floods of infinite tenderness pent up in You to overflow into my soul, so that I may become a very martyr of Your love, O my God! May this martyrdom, after having prepared me to appear in Your presence, free me from this life at last, and may my soul take its flight without delay, into the eternal embrace of your merciful love."

What enables this type of love? Only God's action in first loving us and choosing us. To give without tiring we need to drink continually from the stream that is Jesus Christ. He it is who appointed us to bear fruit, and will see to it that we do. He it is who will fill us with love so that we can overflow into loving one another. He it is who accompanies us along our life trajectory so that whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. And it is He that will welcome us when we reach our eternal home.

Lord Jesus, strength of martyrs, help us to love as you love in our life and in our death. Come to us through the Church and all of reality and love us, inspiring us to love others. Help us, for apart from You we cannot truly love since You are the origin and destiny of every creature.

Mary, Mother of our Savior, lead us to the heart of Christ and teach us how to love without counting the cost. Strengthen us, inspire us, and fill us with grace so that we may love as you and Jesus and Joseph love, to the best of our ability and without ever giving up.

Jn 12:44-50

VSS VPM

Jesus reacts to those who don't believe in him, still trying to win their belief and warn them of coming judgment.

What can we learn about Jesus' relation to the Father? He is "begotten, not made" from the Father, "True God from True God, Light from light". Jesus is the Word spoken by the Father. Jesus is the Stream sent forth from the Fountain that is the Father. Therefore our faith in Jesus passes onto God the Father who sent Him. And as Jesus is sent by the Father, so we are sent by Christ: "'As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the holy Spirit'" (Jn 20:21-22).

"Light from light." Jesus is light, as the Father is light. A Church father writes, "[Jesus] calls Himself the light, because he delivers from error, and disperses the darkness of the understanding." And John's prologue gives another angle: "What came to be through [the Word, the Son] was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (Jn 1:3-4). Think of the Easter Vigil when we celebrate Christ as our light with the Pascal candle, passing the flame to each other as we whisper "receive the light of Christ!" The light of Christ is life, and when we remain in Him we catch flame with his life and shine for all the world!

Jesus shows in this reading that he is both merciful and just: "in you justice and mercy shall embrace" it says in the mass. He is merciful in that he did not come to condemn the world but to save it, and he continues trying to save those who are stubbornly turning a deaf ear to his words. And He is just in that He is the Word which will judge us at the end of time, after God's period of forbearance has passed.

Lord, reveal to us the Mystery of the Father. Receive us, teach us, and give us the Holy Spirit so that we may be sent as ambassadors of Your presence in the world and be worthy of our name, "Christians." Come, be our light, and conquer the dark areas of our life and understanding with your saving power and truth. Catch us on fire with the light of your life! Be merciful to us, and lead us forward to progress in righteousness. Meet our desires for love and for justice as only You can.

Mary, mother of divine grace, grant us the grace of always remaining in the love of Christ. Direct our eyes swiftly and steadily to his Light, to his Person, and help us to remain enkindled with his light in our hearts at all times. Send your grace to disperse the confusions of our understanding, and the Holy Spirit to lead us to all truth! Lead us to Jesus so that we may know the Father, too, and have met our needs for love and justice.

Jn 10:1-10

VSS VPM

After Jesus has just saved a blind man and butted heads with the Pharisees, he gives a figure of speech to distinguish Himself and His way from deceivers.

Jesus emphasizes that the true shepherd enters through the gate. The fathers write that in the first part, by gate he is referring to the Scriptures. Here's a quote:

"The Scriptures He calls the door. They admit us to the knowledge of God, they protect the sheep, they shut out the wolves, they bar the entrance to heretics. He that uses not the Scriptures, but climbs up some other way, i.e. some self-chosen, some unlawful way, is a thief."

And through all the words of the Scriptures God speaks a single Word, Christ. The Porter can be taken as either Christ again, since He reveals Himself, or the Holy Spirit, who leads to all truth.

The gate is also Christ, who opens to the Father. How then should one approach those called by God, those whose names God has written in heaven? One should approach the children of God as Christ does. Here is a quote from the fathers:

"He enters by the door, who enters by Christ, who imitates the suffering of Christ, who is acquainted with the humility of Christ, so as to feel and know, that if God became man for us, man should not think himself God, but man. He who being man wishes to appear God, does not imitate Him, who being God, became man. You are bid to think less of yourself than you are, but to know what you are."

So we are to remember the humanity of Christ in our relations with others.

Jesus says that the sheep who hear his voice will go in and out, and find pasture. What does he mean by this? St. Augustine interprets in light the following line: "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." The just live by faith in this world, and they enter into eternal life when they go out to the next. Friends, the promises of heaven are so sweet: "For the Lamb who is in the center if throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Rev 7:17). It will be bliss. So we should find ourselves living each day for eternity. Or think on the promises in the Bread of Life discourse. "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst" (Jn 6:35). While it is true that God will give us life, all we need, and a hundredfold in this world, it remains true that God wants to give us heaven. Let us let our hearts expand to desire the things of heaven!

Lord, send forth your Holy Spirit to open our minds to Your Presence in the Scriptures and in our daily life. Give us a great love for God's Word, Your Person, so that we always seek to know You more fully. For "this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (Jn 17:3). By Your revelation and shepherds lead us to life and even to eternal life. Let us hear your voice when you call us, and respond by following You.

Mary, cause of our joy, help us to discern the voice of the Good Shepherd who brings us life from all the many voices we hear. Teach us to ponder all of God's revelation in our heart. Mould us into the image of Christ, so that we might better serve God and neighbor. Fill our hearts with the life that Jesus has promised, and help us to be patient until we can join Him in heaven.

Lk 24:13-35

VSS VPM

After the women encounter the empty tomb, two bewildered disciples on the seven-mile road to Emmaus encounter the risen Lord. He comes fulfilling his promise, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mt 20:17).

Let us consider the faith of these disciples. Jesus calls them foolish and says they were slow of heart to believe all that the prophets said. But they had some faith. One father remarks that they had walked the sixth mile, lamenting that Jesus had been put to death. They also walked the seventh mile, believing Jesus was laid in the tomb. But their journey had not reached the eighth mile, assent to the glory of the resurrection. Furthermore, they here profess Jesus as a great prophet, and not as the Son of God. They might have been also blaming themselves for putting their hopes in the man Jesus.

But Jesus does not leave them bewildered and incomplete. Rather, starting from where they are, he instructs them. "Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" (Lk 24:26). (And he interpreted the scriptures for them.) This suffering Messiah is a detail peculiar to Luke. The fathers write that the evil men did not do God's intention when they put Jesus to death, but nevertheless God brought good from it. And somehow it was only through suffering an evil death that Christ could enter into his glorious resurrection. When we are faced with sufferings in life, Christ is there with us, calling us to unite our suffering to his and to press on to the resurrection, to the moment when God works it all out for our good and the good of humanity. "If we have died with him/ we shall also live with him;/ If we persevere / we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim 2:11).

How does Jesus educate us and draw us to a greater faith? By the methods of the Church. This episode was probably used as a catechetical and liturgical text. Think of its resemblance to the Mass - the word be proclaimed and broken for us in the readings and homily, and the breaking of the Eucharistic bread at which we can recognize Christ in his body, blood, soul, and divinity and say with Thomas "My Lord and My God" (Jn 20:28).

Lord, come meet us wherever we are in our faith journey and accompany us to the next step. Respond to what we know and believe, but do not leave us there. Rather, challenge us and explain to us the secrets of Yourself. Lead us also through our sufferings into a greater communion with You. Help us to find our place in the Church where You can work through Your human instruments to communicate Your divine goodness to us.

Mary, seat of wisdom, send forth a ray of Christ's brilliance to penetrate our minds. Teach us to meditate humbly but worthily on the Scriptures, finding Christ throughout their entirety. Set our hearts ablaze for your Son. And let us recognize His Body and Blood as concentrated Wisdom, as a Person Whom we love.

Mt 25:31-46

VSS VPM

Jesus concludes a set of parables with a direct revelation about the Last Judgement.

It is important to note that this separation takes place at the last judgement, after Jesus is revealed in his majesty. For until then, God forebears the evil in the world and does not cut it away, since "As I live says the Lord God, I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man's conversion, that he may live" (Ez 33:11). He patiently waits for us to turn back to Him and the way of life He proposes.

What does Christ mean when he says, "whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me"? Scholars disagree, but some say he indicates the missionaries who suffered on account of Christ. So our eternal salvation would depend on how we treat those who bring us God's message, on how we treat the Church, Christ's body. This makes sense, as they are the ones through whom Christ offers salvation, i.e. Himself as the Way to eternal life. We are to accept Christ's ministers, even when they ask us to change our ways or give up our own will. This can be accomplished in an effective way through spiritual direction, but it can also take place among a community of believers where each is a herald of Christ.

But we may also take Christ to be identifying with every poor and suffering man and woman. Mother Theresa said that on the streets she met "Christ in pitiable disguise." Others are less conscious that they are serving Christ directly, but they still do. The sheep of the passage were astonished that they had served Christ. This astonishment points to the fact that Christ is involved in our everyday actions, in the mundane, where we least expect him. He is especially in the personal. Let us look on our neighbor with the love with which Christ loves us, stretching out our arms to embrace all of humanity. Let us serve our neighbor humbly and diligently, for in serving him or her we serve Christ. We can be like the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, "servant of all."

Lord, convert our hearts before it is too late. Teach us to accept your ministers with the full strength of our mind and body. Lead us to find and embrace You in our neighbor who carries Your image, as Elizabeth embraced Mary who carried You. Keep us faithful to love.

Mary, gate of heaven, give us your heart to say yes to the plan of God as it is told us by God's herald. Watch over our priests and missionaries and give them the wisdom necessary for shepherding hearts. Be with us as we strive to live the works of mercy.

Mk 12:1-12

VSS VPM

Jesus tells a parable to the chief priests, scribes, and elders.

One thing we see in this parable is that God's mission for us may include persecution. When we are sent by God, when we live out our baptism as sharing in Christ's prophecy, when we stick up for the truth in a world of pluralism, we are liable to be persecuted. "Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Mt 5:11-12) and thus they persecuted Jesus.

Why are we persecuted? Because God respects all men's free will. He entrusts His plan to our freedom. He leaves free to accept or reject the messengers whom he sends. And we can reject them by persecuting them, or by forgetting them altogether. And he entrusts to us his very Son, in the Eucharist, in the Christians who bear his name, in all of reality, time and time again, begging for our heart. And by our actions we accept or reject Him.

But even though he was and is rejected by many, Christ has become the cornerstone for his Church. He is a cornerstone because it is a Church of all people, of former Jews and former Gentiles, of children and adults, of different movements and charisms. In all our experience of Church, Christ must be the living Rock; we must seek the personal relationship at the heart of our religious experience. "Who am I... and Who are You?" said St. Francis. Christ came for all humanity and gave his life for all of us, there is no distinction. He wants to draw out each personality into its fullest expression; he wants us to become fully ourselves, centered in He who knows us better than we know ourself.

Lord, keep sending us messengers of Your love, and dispose us to accept them! Do not let us be discouraged when we find we have rejected You out of weakness, but come again to our aid and win us back, be our Rock. Help us to live our acceptance of You in each moment. Give us strength to be the Christians we are called to be, especially in the face of persecution. Help us to discover our true selves in Your mercy.

Mary, mother of our Savior, keep us always in the Church, close to the Source and Summit of everything. Help us to surrender our freedom to Christ through faith and through our actions. Teach us to use our freedom as it was intended to be used.

Mt 7: 21-27

VSS VPM

At the end of the sermon on the mount Jesus highlights the difference between saying and doing, and between hearing and doing.

This injunction fits the situation: he has just finished a great moral speech. And Christ is the first one to do what he proclaims. For example, Christ lived the beatitudes - he was pure of heart, a peacemaker, meek, merciful, mournful (over Lazarus), upright, persecuted, and poor and spirit. And therefore he was blessed, that is, happy.

In this passage, though, Christ enjoins us to do the will of God, for it is only they who do the Father's will who will be admitted into heaven. The Father wills the same thing as Christ because they are one. Indeed, one Church father writes that Christ came to do:

the will of him that sent me, that every man that sees the Son and believes on Him should have eternal life. The word believe has reference both to confession and conduct. He then who does not confess Christ, or does not walk according to His word shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

So to do God's will is to believe in Christ (and act as if we believed in Christ). "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent" (John 6:29). And this does not necessarily involve doing great things, for there were ones who did great things but not the will of God. Rather it is to do all things with great charity.

Then Christ likens the one who hears his word and acts on it to a wise man who built his house on rock. One father writes a beautiful interpretation of this part, interpreting Christ to be the wise man and the house to be the Church:

Christ is the wise man who has built His house, that is, the Church, upon a rock, that is, upon the strength of the faith. The foolish man is the Devil, who has built his house, that is, all the ungodly, upon the sand, that is, the insecurity of unbelief, or upon the carnal, who are called the sand on account of their barrenness; both because they do not cleave together, but are scattered through the diversity of their opinions, and because they are innumerable. The rain is the doctrine that waters a man, the clouds are those from which the rain falls. Some are raised by the Holy Spirit, as the Apostles and Prophets, and some by the spirit of the Devil, as are the heretics. The good winds are the spirits of the different virtues, or the Angels who work invisibly in the senses of men, and lead them to good. The bad winds are the unclean spirits. The good floods are the Evangelists amid teachers of the people; the evil floods are men full of an unclean spirit, and overflowing with many words; such are philosophers and the other professors of worldly wisdom, out of whose belly come rivers of dead water. The Church then which Christ has founded, neither the rain of false doctrine shall sap, nor the blast of the Devil overturn, nor the rush of mighty floods remove.Nor does it contradict this, that certain of the Church do fall; for not all that are called Christians,are Christ's, but, The Lord knows them that are his.

Let us then belong to Christ!

Lord, let us be blessed and at peace in doing the will of God, in believing in You. Send your Holy Spirit of love into our hearts and inspire us to live with great charity. And let us always be counted among those whom you have chosen.

Mary, mother of good counsel, lead us to the will of God for our lives and form us to do the truth in love. Do not let us be crushed by circumstances, but let all things work together for our good and God's glory.

Mk 10:28-31

VSS VPM

Peter points out that the Apostles have left everything and followed Jesus, and Jesus replies:

"There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more..." God is not saying that we should not help our family members. Rather, he is saying to prefer the glory of God to the things of this world. He wants us to love Him more than we love other things. (Indeed, we can love other things and people because we love God). But what do we prefer to God? What are our idols?

"...receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands..." Here we can understand the joys of communal life. In an authentic community of believers, every house is opened (at least on occasion), every family is shared (with proper respect for boundaries) - we are 'brother and sister in Christ', and the fruits of the land are distributed justly. There is also Communal joy: the joy given to us in the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus at Mass. This joy opens us up further to a full life in community - he is the Source of our unity - and to eternal life in heaven.

"...with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come." But these joys come together with persecution, for following Christ will always bring persecution. He calls us to a different way of life, to doing everything we do in a Christian way, to following Him in the day to day actions of our life. We are to bear the difficulties of this life as "God's soldier." We are, after all, the Church Militant. But it is in these persecutions and trials that we are refined and consumed with love in our relationship with Christ, becoming ever more desirous of eternal life.

Lord, win over our hearts and place Yourself at the center, as the first priority. Draw us into fraternal communion and prepare us for eternal life by the sacred meal we share. Be with us in our sufferings, and let us know your constant Presence.

Mary, gate of heaven, bring us to Your Son and help us to make our choices with Him, through Him, by Him, and for Him - in word, help us to live in God. Pray for us now and at the hour of our death, that we may be warmly welcomed into eternal bliss.

Mk 10:17-27

VSS VPM

A man runs up to Jesus, kneels down and they have a conversation about the law.

Jesus looked at the man, with all his earnest desire, with all his righteousness, with all his thirst for eternal life, and loved him. At moment he was looked on with love by his Creator. And Jesus knew him, and knew what would perfect him. He offers Himself on the condition of detachment from wealth. Jesus tries to place God at the center of his heart - "No one is good but God alone", Jesus included. The way to eternal life was through that personal relationship, but he could not bear that God asked his everything, his false god, his security, his Isaac. "You cannot serve God and mammon" (Mt 6:24).

And Jesus says, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God." The fathers write that he was speaking about his passion, in which he will fulfill the law with the ultimate act of love. Jesus is the just man, who opens not his mouth. He is the poor one on the cross, vulnerable in sympathy with the weak of humanity.

And he says, "For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." By human resources we do not get salvation, nor even do we get things to work out very well for us on this earth. We are limited and we fall. We can plan all we want, try as hard as we want, yet when it comes to what's really important, its a free gift of God that gets us to heaven. Sure, we have to engage that gift, but it is a gift nonetheless. "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent" (Jn 6:29). We do not achieve salvation on our own merits, but on the merits of the precious blood of Christ.

Lord, look on us with love and place the Trinity at the center of our hearts, so that every choice we make is made for God, in God, through God, with God. Come down to our bleak situations and failing efforts and carry us through all the weaknesses of our humanity. Help us to accept your proposal in our hearts every day.

Mary, virgin gentle in mercy, bring us to Jesus with all of our questions and earnest desires. Teach us how to adore Christ and to place Him at the center of our hearts. When we fail due to human weakness, find a way for us to come back to God through the merits of your Son's passion.

Mt 6:24-34

VSS VPM

In the middle of the sermon of the mount, Jesus gives a beautiful monologue about Divine Providence.

This passage is not suggesting that we forego ordinary measures -- that is, toiling by the sweat of our brow and the work of our hands, or minds, etc -- for obtaining our daily bread, for this much we merit by original sin. As Augustine puts it, we are to take the sufferings of the day as given to us as "God's soldier." Rather than avoiding our duty and testing God, we are instructed not to worry about these necessities so that we might not become their slave and hence a bad soldier.

Jesus uses two types of arguments to communicate the value of a child of God. He first argues from the greater to the less: "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Then he argues from the less to the greater: "Look at the birds in the sky...are not you more important than they?" In other words, God will take care of man as he values man and man's destiny more than birds and flowers. Indeed, not only is God a provident Father, but he is also a lover to our souls. The Song of Song references to the beloved being found among the lilies, and being "as a lily among the thistles" (Song of Song 2:2). The Church is also the place of lilies. Through the Church, God looks at us with superabundant charity, giving us the tradition, the Son of God, the sacraments, the Christian witnesses who look on us with charity. And through everything (including our toil) God is jumping down at the chance to provide for our every need, because He is our Father and our Lover, and he values us as the pinnacle of his creation. "Strong is his love for us; he is faithful for ever" (Psalm 117: 2). Everything is a gift from Him! Praise Him!

So what should we focus our energies on? "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and these things will be given you besides." What does it mean to seek first the kingdom and his righteousness? It means to seek true life. "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (Jn 6:27). And later he says, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger" (35). Food for Jesus is also to do the work of the one who sent him. So our food too can be to participate in God's saving plan of righteousness, becoming members of the body of Christ, weaving networks of charity out in the world. At the root of much poverty is an isolation from community. Lets take out that root as God's servants.

Lord, help us to bear the sufferings that must necessarily come to us, especially through our daily work, and to use those sufferings to be God's soldier and prepare our soul for true life. Provide for our needs - from the need for truth to the need for food - sometimes through our God given abilities, always through a gift. Help us to realize that we are in God's hands, with nothing to lose but our slaveries.

Mary, comforter of the troubled, give us Your trust in God's faithfulness, that he will respond to the needs he has created. Help us to live our days in peace, that is, in the presence of God. Help us to become more like God in charity, providing for the needs of our neighbor.

Mk 9:38-40

VSS VPM

John brings another exorcist to the attention of Jesus.

In doing so, John shows his desire for unity. He wishes all the people working wonders in Jesus's name to be of the same company. He could have shared in the desire of St. Paul: "Complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing" (Phil 2:2). It is the desire proper to a bishop like John. It is a good desire.

Jesus meets his desire by expanding his concept of unity. "For whoever is not against us is for us." These words show the divine tolerance.

St. Augustine reconciles this passage with the one where Jesus says, "Whoever is not with me is against me" (Mt 12:30). Augustine writes, "But surely what is implied is, that a man is not with Him in as far as he is against Him, and is not against Him as far as he is with Him." Thus, the other exorcist was not against Him insofar as he was working miracles in Jesus' name, for he held this in common with the disciples. But he was against them insofar as he did not join their society. So, John should have forbidden his being without their society, but not forbidden what he had in common already. Thus the Catholic Church does not blame heretics for their sacraments, which are common, but for their divisive teachings.

Lord, respond to our desire for unity and show us that You are its true object. Broaden our minds to understand the unities that are already at work in our lives and in our relationships, and let us always be one in You, who are greater than we can imagine. Let the Eucharistic Communion be a source of unity for our lives and those relationships which acknowledge that sacrament.

Mary, singular vessel of devotion and Queen of Apostles, help us to understand the unity that Christ brings about. Draw us into greater communion with God and with our neighbor. Unite all our religious experience into a continuous prayer, centered on Christ in the sacraments, the rosary, and in all of reality.

Mk 8:34-9:1

VSS VPM

Having rebuked Peter for wanting to prevent his own passion, Christ speaks to his followers, calling their freedom into engagement to follow Him even in His passion.

"Who ever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." To deny oneself and to take up one's cross are to enter into the suffering that God has permitted to cross one's life's path, grieving not at the casualties, and in all things following the example of Christ: "For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God" (Heb 12:2). It is this bonding with Christ's passion that gives our suffering meaning; it is how we follow Him in the midst of it. And in the midst of it we find Christ, we find redemption.

"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it." What does this mean? Someone who adheres loyally to Christ and his gospel will die an earthly death, but they will win the fullness of life. It is interesting that Mark equates Jesus and his gospel; St. Jerome wrote that we should be as attentive to stray words of the Word of God proclaimed as to crumbs from the Eucharistic species.

"What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life [soul/eternal life]? What could one give in exchange for his life?" One father explains the questions by stating that in losing one's soul, one simply has not another soul to give. It is an irreparable loss. He also writes that Jesus asked this second question to drive to the point of His precious blood, by which our salvation has been purchased by God. Think of that next time you receive the chalice!

Lord, strengthen us in the struggle to be faithful to you, even through suffering. Remind us of Your great love for us and draw us to Yourself, regardless of the cost. Let us join our sufferings to Yours, and inform our consciences with the word of God. Do not allow our souls to be lost, but keep us ever close to You and Your precious blood.

Mother Mary, comforter of the afflicted, give us the strength to joyfully bear the crosses that life sends our way. Lead us always to the redemptive value of the suffering, the union with Christ's pascal mystery. Lead us safely through the cross to the fullness of life in Christ.

Mk 7:31-37

VSS VPM

Jesus comes into a region of 10 cities, where he is brought a deaf man with a speech impediment.

Notice what Jesus does. He uses his physical body. He takes his fingers and sticks them into the ears of the deaf man, and puts his spittle on the man's tongue, and looks up to heaven and groans. Jesus is acting in his perfect humanity, he is loving with his body. And he projects himself onto the afflicted man, much like Elijah stretched himself out upon a child who had stopped breathing: "Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the Lord: 'O Lord, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child'" (1 Kings 17:21). Jesus takes our afflictions upon himself in compassion, ultimately in his passion, so that we might have life and have it to the full (Jn 10:10).

Pseudo-Jerome writes that Tyre (where Jesus went through on the way to the ten cities) "is interpreted narrowness, and signifies Judea, to which the Lord said, 'For the bed is grown too narrow.'" In contrast, Jesus tells the deaf man to "be opened!" Bede writes that the deaf man signifies the one who has not ears to hear the word of God, nor lips to speak it; he must be opened by those who have heard and do speak, as the priest does for us at mass. But cannot "be opened" also mean to be opened from our ideologies, those little ideas that we hold on to and that separate us from reality in its fullness and from each other? Let us be opened to our neighbor. Let us be opened to reality in the totality of its factors! Let us be opened to the fullness of truth, found in Jesus, a person!

Lastly, the crowds spread the news of Jesus and were "exceedingly astonished", praising him for his miracles. The notes tell us that the reaction of the crowd implied that they got the fact that he was the savior. They may have had an experience similar to John the Baptist, to whom Jesus sent the following message as a response to John's questionings about whether Jesus was the one they were waiting for: "The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them" (Mt 11:5). How many miracles have we seen God work in our lives and in those of the people around us? Are we open enough to be astonished at what God does in our lives? Do we really get the point of His Merciful Love?

Lord, see our suffering and have compassion on us. When we are too narrow minded, open us up to the fullness of your truth and love. Help us to find in every event an a recognition of the depths of Jesus, in his humanity and divinity, in his saving Mystery. Help us too to reach out to others with bodily support - hugs are good - and compassion.

Mary, Virgin rightly praised, teach us to see the love of God at work in our lives. Renew our consciences with the power of Divine Mercy. Open us to a lively love of God and neighbor.

Mk 7:24-30

VSS VPM

After spending time with the Jews, Jesus goes into Gentile country, the district of Tyre. His interaction with a Gentile woman teaches us about prayer.

Though he comes into a Gentile territory, he has his disciples keep their mouths shut about his coming. Pseudo-Augustine writes that this is so that others might come and seek Him. Our Lord recognizes the value of a search. So we must turn our hearts toward Christ and seek Him in prayer throughout our day. Our needs (for truth, for happiness, for justice, for love) should impel us seek his face. "'Come,' says my heart, "seek God's face"' (Ps 27:8a). To seek God's face is to commune with God.

Sometimes we will meet with adversity, as the woman met with "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." Here we need to take a lesson from her perseverance for the times we meet with spiritual dryness, with situations that seem impossible, or when the words of the Gospel seem to convict us. She did not become discouraged at Jesus' words, but more creative. "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps."

What humble confidence! She willingly places herself in the position of a dog, so long as she gets to sit beneath the Master's table. And for her great faith her daughter was exorcised. If we wish our lives to be in good order to and to obtain our needs from God, (and our need is for God himself,) we must ask with humble confidence. We must even acknowledge our sinfulness, which increases our need for Him. We might also allow his word to penetrate us and become part of our prayer, as did the woman. One way to do this is through Lectio Divina where one 1. reads a Bible passage, 2. reflects in meditation, 3. responds in prayer, and 4. rests in contemplation.

Lord, we come to you in prayer with all our desire which is itself a prayer when inspired by the Holy Spirit. We come to you, sinners as we are, in many ways, through the Eucharist, through Lectio, through Christian witnesses, etc. Please remember us in our need for You. We simply beg you to provide for us and put our lives and concrete actions in order with your grace.

Mary, refuge of sinners, make us worthy of the loving gaze of God, take away all barriers between our heart and His. We are poor sinners, but we have you for a powerful intercessor. Speak to Christ with your humility and obtain from Him all the necessary graces we need for our lives to be good lives in His sight.

Mk 6:7-13

VSS VPM

After meeting little faith in Nazareth, Mark has Jesus sending out the Twelve two by two, without food, sack, money, or second tunic; although they are allowed sandals and walking stick.

Literally, the apostles were to be detached from earthly concerns, depending on the power of the Lord to provide for them what was needed and what was their due as men working for God. They were to have no anxiety over their clothing and no concern for riches. In another place he instructs, "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ... If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and withers tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?" (Mt 6:25, 30).

Figuratively, there is more meaning in Jesus' words. St. Augustine writes that the structure of the sandal mirrors the care of the Gospel: it should not be hid nor rest upon earthly comforts. And in commanding them to refrain from taking two coats, he encourages them to lack duplicity but to be "as simple as doves" (Mt 10:16). Finally, by two by two he signified the double commandment of charity, love of God and love of neighbor; and since two persons are required for charity to play out, he showed that one should not preach unless one also has charity.

At mass, when the priest prepares the chalice, he says "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity." This divination following the incarnation started for the Apostles from the moment of their first call. "Come after me and I will make you fishers of men" (Mk 1:17). Already here they begin sharing in the mission of Jesus. Then later the Twelve are taken apart by God to be with Jesus and to receive authority to preach and expel demons (Mk 3:13-19). And finally in this Gospel we have the Apostles receiving the commission to be representatives of Jesus to the surrounding towns. They are allowed to share in some of Jesus' virtues (eg dependence on God) and some of Jesus' power (eg to heal people). They become the hands of Jesus to the towns. We see how step by step Jesus draws them into his divinity. He shares his life with them. Step by step in our lives in the Church, Jesus continues to do the same with us. We are drawn into his life and the life of the Trinity.

Lord, draw us into the mystery of your life. Spark us to become living flames of your love to the world. Teach us true dependence on God and His providence. Help us to be simple and to not be ashamed of the Gospel.

Mary, mother of Christ, nurture the growth of the life of Christ in our lives. Fan his sparks of love and light within us into flame for the sake of the kingdom. Immerse us in the life of your Son so that we might become authentic witnesses to the ends of the earth!

Mt 5:1-12a

VSS VPM

At the beginning of the sermon of the mount, Jesus gives the beatitudes.

There is a song with the question, "What is the promise that embraces my need?" These are those promises. These beatitudes respond to the human desire for happiness. They reveal the true dignity and vocation of humanity to heavenly bliss. And this great gift of God is much greater than our need; therefore the promise "embraces" the need. We must allow ourselves to be embraced by God! "God is greater than our hearts" (1 Jn 3:20). What patience, what endurance we can gain from sincerely accepting these promises. The very lack of consolation can become a consolation, because blessed are they who mourn. These beatitudes can help us recover our peace amidst tribulations.

Human happiness is achieved for good in the beatific vision - seeing God in heaven. The beatitudes are like 8 pathways to this vision. Jesus lived them to perfection, and Jesus is the Way. Let us be poor in spirit, dependent on God! Let us mourn for our sins! Let us build the spiritual life on humility! Let us hunger for doing the will of the Father! Let us soften strict justice with mercy! Let us live in the truth with a pure heart! Let us be instruments of peace! Let us bear our share of hardship for the sake of the Gospel!

The beatitudes call us to be little ones, to be poor ones. They turn our expectations on their head. "He who humbles himself will be exalted" (Lk 14:11). They call us to the simplicity of a child in the hands of his or her Father. They call us to St. Thérèse's little way of love. "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:3). Knowing his promises, we can trust God with complete confidence. For God always keeps his promises. "If we have died with him, we shall also live with him. If we hold out to the end we shall also reign with him" (2 Tim 2:11-12).

Lord, thank you for responding to our desire for happiness with these wonderful promises! Convert us to your Way so that already on earth we can begin to experience the joys promised. Send us the grace we need to live these beatitudes every day of our lives!

Mary, gate of heaven, make us worthy of the promises of Christ! See to it that we attain to our happiness by remaining faithful through all our trials. Recall these promises to our minds when things get tough, or when we feel we are little.

MK 4:26-34

VSS VPM

Jesus gives a couple of parables about the kingdom of God. In the first the sower sows a seed and then it grows without the sower's intervention until the harvest, producing "first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear" (4:28). In the second the tiny mustard seed grows into the largest shrub, becoming a home for birds and other animals.

What does this tell us about the kingdom? The seed of the kingdom is faith in God. "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent" (Jn 6:29). Since by earth is meant us (consider the well-known parable of the sower), the kingdom unfolds in concert with our free will. One father writes that this kingdom develops in three stages: by the blade is meant natural law, the ear is to be collected and offered as in the law of Moses, and the full grain or fruit corresponds to the Gospel and its fruits of charity, forgiveness, etc. Our faith in God can lead us through these stages, both individually and collectively as a people. At the end of time the Son will return to harvest what has been growing through its inherent power and our cooperation.

Or another interpretation describes the development of virtue:

GREGORY; Or else; Man casts seed to the ground, when he places a good intention in his heart; and he sleeps, when he already rests in the hope which attends on a good work. But he rises night and day because he advances amidst prosperity and adversity, though he knows it not for he is as yet unable to measure his increase, and yet virtue, once conceived, goes on increasing. When therefore we conceive good desires, we put seed into the ground; when we begin to work rightly, we are the blade. When we increase to the perfection of good works, we arrive at the ear; when we are firmly fixed in the perfection of the same working, we already put forth the full corn in the ear.

The second parable indicates that though the kingdom starts through such a tiny seed, faith in God, it grows up to be spoken of universally throughout the world. This proclamation happens through the Church, who continues to send ones to believe in. By the birds of the air are meant men of lofty contemplation, such as St. Augustine or many other gentiles who come to rest in the work of the Church. St. Augustine wrote, "I have read in Plato or Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden."

Lord, send us your representatives in whom we can believe. Help us to trustingly accept in faith the witness of our friends and spiritual directors, and so become a witness ourselves. Lead us to dwell in the sacramental and missionary life of the Church, taking on Christ's light burden.

Mary, Queen of apostles and martyrs, find us with your servants, and win us over, so that we may cooperate with the kingdom of God's ongoing development. Send us some of your grace to help form in us the virtues that are conducive to that kingdom.

Mk 4:12-17

VSS VPM

After John the Baptist's captivity, Jesus flees to Galilee to delay his passion and preach to more people.

Matthew writes that Jesus fulfills a prophecy with this action: "...the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen." The Fathers are clear that this darkness is a spiritual darkness of sin. The people were sitting in darkness, signifying that they were awaiting deliverance. They did not know what to do, but expected their direction from without. How many times can we find ourselves in a circle of repeated sin, needing an initiative from God to break us out?

One interpretation of this passage uses the names of the places:

Nazareth is interpreted 'a flower,' Capernaum, 'the beautiful village;' He left therefore the flower of figure, (in which was mystically intended the fruit of the Gospel,) and came into the Church, which was beautiful with Christ's virtues. It is by the sea-coast, because placed near the waves of this world, it is daily beaten by the storms of persecution. It is situated between Zabuloin and Naphtali, i.e. common to Jews and Gentiles. Zabulon is interpreted, 'the abode of strength;' because the Apostles, who were chosen from Judaea, were strong. Nephtali, 'extension,' because the Church of the Gentiles was extended through the world.

Also in this passage Jesus announces the imminence of the kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of heaven is a major element in the Gospels, and even in the Old Testament. It is the reign of God over his chosen people, and - through them - over the whole world. In this kingdom are the saints, who acknowledge God as Lord by knowing and loving Him. It is a kingdom which was threatened by sin, and which stood in need of saving action from God. It is this saving action that Jesus proclaims as imminent. Rather than a nationalist uprising, the kingdom makes a humble beginning on this earth in the form of a spiritual movement.

Lord, come to us and break us out of our circles of repeated sin and death. Shine your light in and through us to reach the whole world. Do not let us reject your kingdom, but lead us to its fullness. Come Lord Jesus!

Mary, star of the sea and morning star, make us - like you - a window through which the Lord's light is magnified. Make our experience of the Church as beautiful as it should be. Reign over our hearts as Queen and so hasten the coming of God's kingdom!

Mk 3:20-21

VSS VPM

Jesus comes down from the mountain to his earthly home and enters a house.

One of the fathers writes that in bringing the apostles to a house, he entreats them to examine their conscience. How frequently do we examine our conscience? Many in the church examine their conscience when they return to their rooms at night for night prayer. Or we may examine our conscience at the beginning of mass.

But they do not have long to examine, since the crowds press upon them, thirsty for the living water that Jesus gives and the miracles he can provide. It was not the princes, but the common people who pressed upon Jesus. The poor ones, those who acknowledge their utter need before Christ, these are the ones who beg for salvation from the Author of Salvation.

And then there were His relatives. They misunderstood his wonders, thinking Jesus mad. After all, He had some many people attending on Him that He couldn’t eat. Jesus’ home life was not the most comfortable. He had to disagree with the sentiments of his own relatives. Think of what his mother must have felt when he said, “Who are my mother and my brothers? Those who hear the Word of God and observe it.” (Although, Mary fits this category). Or how she didn’t understand when as a boy he discussed truth in His Father’s house. Or how she looked at him on the cross, trying to understand how he was the king and savior that the angel promised her. And yet no one understood better than her who had pondered all in her heart and who was so closely conformed to Jesus, man of her flesh. It could be but probably wasn’t Mary who thought Christ was mad, but some other relatives.

Lord, help us to examine our conscience and see not only our sins but our need for You. Stoop down to our needs and provide for us, so that we follow you. Keep us humble before you so that we do not try to control how you choose to act in our lives. Help us in our misunderstandings with others to seek the truth, which is outside us, and to find it!

Mary, refuge of sinners, lead us to your Son whom we so desperately need as the Coherence of our lives and the Author of our salvation. Go between Your Son and us so that we may reach a better understanding of the Father’s will in our life. Give us your poor humility to accept God’s action in our life, however that may come about.

Mk 3:7-12

VSS VPM

After the Pharisees go to plot Jesus' death with the Herodians, Jesus retires to a lakeside.

Numerous crowds follow him there. It is a prefigurement of his passion, "when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men to myself" (John). Jesus is already drawing all men to Himself by the power of his preaching and miracles.

And the people come from all regions to the lakeside. This circumstance signifies that Jesus, after being rejected by the Jews, becomes a light to the Gentiles.

But he withdraws into a boat. Jesus hides his glory a little bit. He withdraws into the boat as he withdraws into the Church and into our very bodies through the Eucharist. The people of God are a vessel in which Christ is partly revealed, partly concealed. But he is never completely concealed in the Church. He is still accessible to his closest disciples, the ones who remain faithful to Him over time, and he still preaches to the nations from the Church. For example, one can think of how many spiritual books our late pope John Paul II wrote for the faithful, and yet how many countries he visited as well.

Lord, draw us to yourself, as a moth to a flame! Grant us patience when we do not understand fully Your mysteries, and reveal to us more and more the extent of Your saving love. Come into our Church, into our bodies, and teach us to see as your see, and shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others, with all the light coming from You.

Mary, ark of the covenant, teach us how to carry Jesus with us throughout the day, and how to share Him with others, or rather find Him there loving through us. Let nothing ever trouble our peace, or make us leave the thought of God, but let each moment draw us further into the depths of the august mystery, further into Love.

MK 2:23-28

VSS VPM

After being questioned about fasting, Jesus is once again confronted by the Pharisees. Jesus' disciples had been making a path through a cornfield by picking the corn, something which broke the Sabbath in the opinion of the Pharisees.

But Jesus cites a passage from 1 Samuel about David and defends his disciples. From this we glean the importance of a good pastor or leader or director in the Church. He must account for the actions of all his disciples. Above all, he or she must love them.

What he says next is even more revealing: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." With these words Jesus establishes the primacy of the person. A person's health and purpose were more important than the rules of the Pharisees.

Jesus then calls himself the "Son of Man." The notes tell us that this designation was primarily for Mark's Christian audience, and not for the Pharisees. In other words, it was for us. Why does Jesus call himself the Son of Man? It is the way he most frequently refers to himself in the Gospels. Perhaps it is because it is linked to his mission. Jesus was God; he became man to save man and draw man into His life as God. He can sympathize with our weaknesses because he was tested in every way, yet without sin. When the Word became flesh he became one of us, a son of man. Perhaps Jesus sees his human nature as a network of people, as a web of relationships. He had a human culture. Perhaps he is extending his connections beyond this culture by calling himself by a more universal name, since indeed he did come to take away the sins of the world.

Lord Jesus, help us to remember the primacy of the person with all their God-given dignity. Have mercy on us in our weaknesses and lead us to the Father's will in every circumstance of our lives, so that we may live as God intended.

Mary, tower of David, help us to hunger always for the true Bread of Life, the Eucharist. Help us to see ourselves as related to our fellow man, remembering his or her dignity. Give us your humble courage to allow ourselves to be led by God and his Church.

Mk 2:18-22

VSS VPM

In this passage Jesus is questioned by the followers of John and the Pharisees, who want to know why he doesn't fast - or rather, why he eats without fasting with sinners (for Jesus may very well have fasted when he was alone, as he did in the 40 days in the desert). And Jesus responds - "Can the wedding guests fast while the Bridegroom is with them?"

Now Jesus is the Bridegroom of the Church, of humanity through the Church. He fulfills the relationship prophesied in Hosea. The guests in this case are the Apostles, although we too are invited to the King's banquet everyday in the Eucharist. And every Christian marriage should be a living sign of Christ's marriage to the Church.

The wedding guests do not fast because it is a time of joy. Joy is a sign of God's presence among us. If we do not have joy, let us beg to be made aware of God's presence.

And Jesus, the Bridegroom, does something new. He does not repeat the Old Testament, but rather fulfills it. He does not repeat the old Law, but rather gives a new covenant, written in his own blood. Indeed, he begins a new creation by which we are totally transformed.

Lord, make us aware of your Presence so that we can rejoice with you! Please do something new in our lives! Teach us to feast when it is time to feast, and to fast when our sin separates us from you, if appropriate.

Mary, cause of our joy, bring us to your Son so that we can rejoice in His Presence. Or, give us strength when we face the time of trial or penance.

Mk 2:13-17

VSS VPM

After the healing of the paralytic, Mark has Jesus going once again to the sea. The crowds follow him there, and he teaches them.

Jesus' teaching was different than the average teacher. He taught as one having authority, as one making absolute claims on his hearers. This puts Him in line with the best of the prophets. Upon hearing Jesus, one had to make a decision.

Not only Jesus' words, but Jesus' gaze was powerful. He stopped by the customs post, and there he set his gaze on Levi (Matthew), looking on Him with infinite Divine Love. After such a look, Matthew the tax collector had to make a decision; he had come upon the authority of Jesus that challenges one to the core. He immediately got up and followed Jesus. After a look, Matthew left behind a way of life, and began to share in the life and work of Jesus Christ.

Then Matthew welcomes Jesus into his home, where Jesus dines with tax collectors and sinners. He dined with them not so that they would stay sinners, but so that they would leave behind their former way of life and become Christian, become more authentically human ("well"). Mnsr Liugi Giussani used to say that "the Church is that place where true humanity, fashioned according to God's will, comes within everyone's grasp." This is one meaning of "those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do." Those whose humanity is broken, those who are tied up in their own sins, those who are oppressed by evil (which is a lack of goodness) and who admit it, these people need a Liberator, a Divine Physician. The Pharisees, because of their self-righteousness, could not welcome Jesus, and they did not go away changed. Only those who humbly acknowledged their need for Jesus could benefit from Jesus' Presence.

Lord, come into your Church, your Church of sinners, and transform us into saints. Look on us with infinitely compassionate love, as you looked on Matthew, so that we might imitate you and look this way on on our neighbor, and so hasten the coming of your kingdom! When you come to us in the Eucharist, restore our fallen humanity into the new creation that you begin.

Mary, Queen of all hearts, draw us into the life of your Church, the life which is Jesus, such that we want to lead new and exciting lives with Him. Help us to remember the gaze Christ has had for us so far, through all the mediums, so that we might be faithful to His love and imitate it with our neighbor.

Mk 1:14-20

VSS VPM

After John is arrested, Mark has Jesus begin preaching the imminence of the Kingdom of God, i.e. the rule of God over our hearts. Soon he calls his first four disciples: Simon and Andrew, and James and John the Sons of Zebedee.

What does it mean to follow the Lord? Certainly they got up and followed him physically. One of the Fathers correlates each of the four disciples to a virtue based on their name:

PSEUDO-JEROME: Again, Simon, means obedient; Andrew, manly; James, supplanter; John, grace; by which four names, we are knit together into God's host; by obedience, that we may listen; by manliness, that we do battle; by overthrowing, that we may persevere; by grace, that we may he preserved. Which four virtues are called cardinal; for by prudence, we obey; by justice, we bear ourselves manfully; by temperance, we tread the serpent underfoot; by fortitude, we earn the grace of God.

So following the Lord may imply living a virtuous life. The study notes suggest that for us who did not have the same exact honor as these apostles, we can still follow Jesus by sharing fellowship with Him, or imitating Him.

But this fellowship comes with sacrifice. What does it mean to leave our nets behind? It may mean giving up something that is keeping us from following the Lord in the ways mentioned above. Rather than leaving someone we might have to go to a messy relationship in order to follow the Lord more closely, acting as a Christian would. Or it may mean starting (with God's help) something completely new, trusting in the providence of God.

Not that the disciples got it all right the first time. The fathers point out that given the differences in the Gospels, the most natural thing is for the fishermen to have left their nets and started following Christ, and then return to their fishing at some point, perhaps at the death of the Baptist, at which point they were called again by Christ. From this we can see that the Apostles were human just like us and that Christ faithfully met them through their weakness.

Grant us your fellowship, Lord! Remain on our case and come to us even after we leave you in our imperfect humanity. Come establish the Kingdom of God in our hearts, and give us the courage to follow You without counting the cost. Let us be Christian in every way. Let us love to be called Christian.

Mary, mother of divine grace, help us to be more like John, whose name means grace, and to follow Jesus wherever He goes. Help us to share in the fellowship of Simon, Andrew, James, John, and Jesus. Help form in us Christian virtues so that the world will be changed. We beg you to give us the heart of Christ with which to love God and neighbor!

Mt 3:13-17

VSS VPM

Jesus is baptized when he is about 30 years old at the start of his public ministry. One father of the church remarks that no one who is not of full age should preach. While I do not consider this blog to be preaching, nevertheless I still wonder if I who am 21 am qualified to be writing even just a blog on such a Holy topic as the Eternal Word of God. (Please comment on this, I won't be offended).

Jesus steps into the place of sinners here, foreshadowing what he would do on Calvary. To John's questionings about who should baptize who, one father writes that Jesus' reply meant as much as "allow it now, for in the future I am going to baptize you with blood, my own." Because of this link to the passion in this cleansing of the sacrament, we can understand what St. Paul writes, "Are you unaware brothers that we who are baptized into Christ's baptism were baptized into his death?" Indeed, the very word Jordan means "descent" and one must bow humbly to accept the new life given in Christ, with its crosses and glory. As Jesus immediately ascends so too can we strive to grow up strong in grace after heaven has been opened for us by our baptism.

We find also the Blessed Trinity present at the baptism. The voice of the Father shows Jesus to be a true Son, and also harkens to the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah,

"Here is my servant whom I uphold,

my chosen one with whom I am pleased,

Upon whom I have put my spirit;

he shall bring forth justice to the nations..."

This justice is accomplished on the cross. The Holy Spirit is at the beginning of the new creation in the form of a dove. I will quote the fathers on this:

PSEUDO-CHRYS. The Holy Ghost took the likeness of a dove, as being more than other animals susceptible of love. All other forms of righteousness which the servants of God have in truth and verity, the servants of the Devil have in spurious imitation; the love of the Holy Spirit alone an unclean spirit cannot imitate. And the Holy Ghost has therefore reserved to Himself this special manifestation of love, because by no testimony is it so clearly seen where He dwells as by the grace of love.

RABAN. Seven excellencies in the baptized are figured by the dove. The dove has her abode near the rivers, that when the hawk is seen, she may dive under water and escape; she chooses the better grains of corn; she feeds the young of other birds; she does not tear with her beak; she lacks a gall; she has her rest in the caverns of the rocks; for her song she has a plaint. Thus the saints dwell beside the streams of Divine Scripture, that they may escape the assaults of the Devil; they choose wholesome doctrine, and not heretical for their food; they nourish by teaching and example, men who have been the children of the Devil, i. e the imitators; they do not pervert good doctrine by tearing it to pieces as the heretics do; they are without hate irreconcilable; they build their nest in the wounds of Christ's death, which is to them a firm rock, that is their refuge and hope; as others delight in song, so do they in groaning for their sin.

CHRYS. It is moreover an allusion to ancient history; for in the deluge this creature appeared bearing an olive-branch, and tidings of rest to the world. All which things were a type of things to come. For now also a dove appears pointing out to us our liberator, and for an olive-branch bringing the adoption of the human race.

So the dove is an excellent choice. And, once again in communion with the Blessed Trinity, and also with his fellow human, Jesus shows us the two object, one action we are to share in the joy of love. We are to give everything for the father and for our neighbor. But let us not forget that it was God who acted first. Jesus came to John, though John was watching. So too does charity flow from God in superabundance when we are open, and is not a only a matter of shoulds, but of wants. We want to please God our Father and therefore we enter also into solidarity with our neighbor.

Lord, come to us and walk with us, turning our hearts in the Holy Spirit of love towards the Father and towards each other. You have have given power to our Sacraments, help us to live them in all their beauty!

Mary, help of Christians, help us to live the crosses we are given in each moment and lead us ever higher into the splendors of heaven, into a greater communion with the Trinity and with each other!

LK 5: 12-16

VSS VPM

Jesus encounters a man with a serious skin disease, and the man tells Jesus "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." From this leper we can learn to ask for God's will in our infirmities, rather than for healing straight up. For perhaps God is allowing us to share in the cross and come to sanctity through our infirmity. But Jesus replied "I do will it. Be made clean." In this case Jesus willed to heal the man.

And he touched him. This was something forbidden by the Jewish law. So Jesus shows that he is not subject to the law. Rather, he fulfills it because he is the sacrifice it requires. We can share in this reality through the Divine Mercy Chaplet, where we offer the Father the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

Then he orders him to go show himself to the priest. He knew that man is fickle and if not placed in front of God at all times, man's heart will wane. Might we say the same for our sacraments? Daily mass, confession, etc help remind us of what God is doing for us and keep our hearts aflame with Divine Love.

Lord, may your will be done in us. If you wish, heal all of our serious maladies, whether they are physical, intellectual, or spiritual. You are the Word made flesh who knows what it is to live in a human body. Touch us with your compassion.

Mary, health of the sick, be a mother to us in our infirmities. If the Lord will not heal us, then give us the courage to bear our cross with dignity.

Glory be forever to the Divine Healer!

Lk 4:14-22

VSS VPM

After vanquishing the Devil, Jesus returns in the Spirit to Galilee where his fame grows, and then enters Nazareth to proclaim the kingdom of God to his brethren. He takes the scroll and reads:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

(In another translation he is also anointed to "heal the broken hearted").

Here Jesus shows his communion with the other Persons of the Blessed Trinity. He reads and fulfills the prophecy of the Old Testament God by God's providence, and he announces his communion with the Holy Spirit.

He also shows his loving heart for humanity, starting with his very own hometown. Can we not take a lesson from this and love the people right next to us first? He has come for the poor in spirit and materially poor, for those blind physically and spiritually, for those captive to sin, for those burdened by the impossible law. And he still comes for these sick people now, for the year acceptable to the Lord can mean the entire life of the Church, which works tirelessly in the service of humanity. One can think of the various saints who spent their lives working for a more just social order, for example.

And the eyes of all were fixed on Christ. Let us return his gaze for us! Let us look at him through the Scriptures, through our Christian friends, through our faith in the sacraments, through Eucharistic adoration, through his everyday Presence!

But let us beware of fickleness, of praising Christ in his Church at one minute and then condemning him in the next.

Lord, come and set us free to worship you without fear! Give us your Spirit, so that we might commune with God and will the good of our neighbor, becoming agents of Your divine Love right where we are planted. Grant that we may experience the "glorious freedom of the children of God."

Mary, shrine of the Spirit, send the Holy Spirit into our hearts to form Christ in us! Come Holy Spirit!

Mk 6:45-52

VSSVPM

After Jesus works the miracle of the loaves, he sends his disciples on a sea journey and dismisses the crowds. Then he goes up a mountain to pray alone, allowing his apostles to struggle before he comes to them across the sea.

Now the ship of the Apostles can be taken in an allegorical sense to mean Holy Mother Church, or else the individual soul. Both are buffeted by evil, error, and other storms of circumstance. Often those in the Church or the thoughts of the soul feel abandoned by God, by the Person of Christ.

But He is there on the shore, watching. He is allowing his people to build up patience and to experience their need for Him. When He is going to pass us by, he does so that we might cry out to Him.

And He responds - "Take Courage. It is I. Do not be afraid." After all, "Perfect love casts out all fear." When he says "It is I," it could be translated as "I AM", showing that He is who is, He is Being itself and therefore all creation serves Him. Its like in the Matrix: "Do not try to bend the spoon; that's impossible. Instead know the truth - there is no spoon..." Jesus knows the truth that He is God's Son, and so He could walk on God's water. And the storm calms at his Presence, "whose Voice is contentment and Presence is balm." It reminds one of David's wars, which were fought with the Lord on their side. Or of the passage in Joshua where the Lord listens to Joshua's request to stop the Sun! Or of the turmoil in fear-ridden Middle East and the voice of Papa Benedict calling for peace.

The Lord is on our side, friends! He sees us and comes to us concretely through the sacraments, through our fellow Christian witnesses, through the facts of life. Do not be afraid!

Lord, Divine Love, increase our faith in you and help us never to doubt that you are looking on us with love. Lord, without you we struggle in vain. Come to us and remain with us. Bring your light and hope and courage, "for if God is for us who can be against us?"

Mary, star of the sea, shine your light when we feel abandoned by God. Lead us to your Son, to the Word among us! Inspire our prayers, and present Jesus with all our needs, first and foremost our need for Himself.

All glory and praise to You, Blessed Trinity!